Quick-acting, watertight ship door



Feb. 3, 1942. J. F. RAus QUICK-ACTING, WATERTIGHT SHIP DOOR 4 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Nov. 6, 1941 Feb. 3, 1942. J. F. RAUS QUICK-ACTING, W ATERTIGHT SHIP DOOR Filed Noir. 6, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTUR :27

Feb. 3, 1942.

J. F. RAUS QUICK-ACTING, WATERTIGHT SHIP DOOR Filed Nov. 6, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Feb. 3, 1942. J. F. RAus QUICK-ACTING, WATERTIGHT SHIP DOOR Filed Nov 6, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTDR FIEIJO IIIII C-l luuunl Fl IE. IS.

Patented Feb. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I 2,271,952 QUICK-ACTING, wn'rna'rren'r SHIP noon Joseph Raus, Upper Darby, Pa. Application November 6, 1941, Serial No. 418,037 g Claims. (Gr m-117) V The object of the invention is to provide improvements in closures for various types of openings, such as various ships doorways and hatches, magazine and vault passageways, and the like, but for purposes of illustration the invention is hereinafter described as being applied to a ships door, although it is to be understood that no such limitation to the scope of the invention is implied, nor is such to be inferred.

Another object is to provide a door of this type, which is especially adapted for use upon war vessels, and that can be instantly closed and locked uniformly about its periphery, so as to provide in every sense of the term a water-tight and shock-proof closure, as for instance to withstand those shocks and vibrations which result from gun firing, high waves, as. during marine storms, rotation of the usual propellers at high speeds and the like. i

A further object is to provide a door structure and lockingmechanism, which is characterized by lightness of weight, simplicity and compactness of construction, freedom from sharp edges,

corners and unnecessarily protruding portions,

and which has a clear and unencumbered central panel portion adapted to transverse reinforcement or other purpose independent of the said locking mechanism.

Still another object is to provide, in combination with a single actuating lever or the like and a plurality of peripherally spaced dogs, connecting means between said dogs for the purpose of making them move simultaneously and means to transmit this dog-actuating force angularly around the corner portions of the door, with means provided for yieldingly maintaining said actuating lever either in extreme operative or inoperative position, to prevent the same from shifting from either of such positions, only when manually so impelled.

. And a still further object is to provide a novel form .of dog-actuating and setting mechanism,

characterized by the. fact that upon movement of said lever towards closed position, each dog is angularly oscillated almost freelyinto lockin position, whereupon said dog is moved towards and into binding relation with the adjacent wedge or other surface that upon which said dog is mounted, it being Iiderstood that so far as the principle of the invention is concerned, the dogs and their actuating mechanism may be mounted either upon the door as is usually the case, or upon the surrounding frame of the partitio bulkhead, or other-member, through which the door-controlled passageof the other member than dogs being way extends, and the unlocking of each of said reversely first away from the wedge or equivalent surface and then freely angularly into full retracted position.

With the objects of the invention thus briefly stated,.the invention comprises further details of construction and operation, which are hereinafter fully brought out in the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a door comprising one embodiment of the invention, positioned in a fragmentary portion of a surrounding partition or the like,

and with the locking mechanism in unlocked position; said door being viewed from its 1ock-carrying side; Fig. 2 is a similar'elevational view showing the locking mechanism in locked position; Fig. 3 is a substantially central vertical section of the device as illustrated-in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the upper right portionof the door, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, including the manually actuatable operating lever; Fig. 5 ha fragmentary section through a portion of the door panel, showing both of the operating levers upon opposite sides of the door, togethen with the details of their mounting upon said door, and in water-tight and except gas-tight relation therewith, "this section being taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig.5; Fig. 7 is a section on the line |--1 of Fig. 9; Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig; 12; Figs. 10-12 comprise a sequence of elevational views showing a given dog in progressive stages of oscillation from open to closed'and locked position; and Fig. 13 is a fragmentary section of a portion of Fig. 7, with the positioning and locking pin-key extending only partly therethrough.

Referring to the drawings, tion of wall I, or floor, such for instance as a partition wall, ships deck or the like, having an aperture or doorway 2 adapted to be closed by a door 3, which for purposes of illustration is pivotally supported by, said wall laterally of said opening upon a plurality of hinges l. Adjacent to said opening and upon the outer side'of said wall there is preferably provided around said opening a metallic moulding strip 5 having a flang'e B, which is preferably directed at right angles to the supporting portion of said strip. Said 'doorin turn, especially one comprising a ships door or the like, comprises a panel of sheet steel or other suitable construction, the marginal portions of which are curved laterally and reversely' at I ,(Figs.3, '1 and 8), and within the inwardly there is shown a pordirected recess defined by said reversely curved marginal portion there is secured in any suitable manner a sheet metal, substantially tubular member 8, containing a rubber or equivalent gasket 9, and opening in one direction toward strip 5, so that the flange 6 is adapted to directly engage and compress said gasket when said door 'is in its tightly closed position (Fig. 8), one side full thickness of said racks, and a second set of teeth l5, which extend only a portion of the full thickness of said racks, the upper or outer portion of each rack opposite the second set of teeth-being cut away to form a rectilinear flattened surface l6, which terminates in an inwardly cut recessed portion I'I, next to the adjacent end of said first set of teeth. Positioned at each corner of said door is an arcuate oscillatable member I 8, pivotly mounted upon said door at l9, and also provided with a full-width set of rack teeth 20, and with a second abbreviated set of rack'teeth 2| of the same extent as an arcuate flattened surface 22, which in the case of each link is curved about an arc of which the pivot point or axis I9 is the center. Each of these flattened surfaces terminates in an inwardly cut recessed portion 23, next to the adjacent end of the full width set of teeth 20. The reciprocatable racks ll upon the opposite vertical sides of said door are connected by links 24 to said corner members I8, while the latter are connected by links 25 to pairs of oppositely positioned parallel racks 26 and 21, positioned adjacent to and parallel with the upper and lower end portions of said door.

The rack 26 in each of the upper and lower pairs last referred to comprises a full-width set of teeth 28 and a second set of abbreviated rack teeth 29, above, which is a flattened surface 30, terminating in a recessed portion 3l, similar to the flattened surface l6 and recess I1 hereinbefore described. The other rack 21 of each of said end pairs is provided with a single set of full-width teeth 32 and is maintained in 8. rec- 'tilinear path of channeled rail or guide 33, which.

is carried by a base portion 34, in turn secured directly to said door panel.

At a substantially central point in the height of said door and adjacent to the freely swinging edge portion of the same is a frame work 35, secured to said door and having a portion 36 extending through an aperture 31 in the door panel 3. This extension 36 is provided with a thickened portion having a bore comprising stepped portions 38 and 39, the latter being larger than the former, while through said bore extends a shaft 40, provided with stepped flanges 4|, between which in the outer portion 3! of said bore there is positioned suitable packing 42. Upon one end of said shaft is secured in any suitable manner a hand lever 43,'while a second hand lever 44 is likewise secured'in anysuitable manner upon the opposite end 'of said shaft.

However, between said frame 35 and the second of said levers, said shaft is provided witha gear 45, having a radially inwardly extending recess 46 in one side, into which extends one end of a pin 41, the opposite end of which is positioned within a laterally extending arm 48, carried by a radially outer portion of the lever 44.-

Slidably mounted upon said pin is a block 49 which engages and, is prevented from rotating by cooperation with the adjacent surface of said last-mentioned lever, and is forced into the radially innermost position by means of a coil spring 50, surrounding said pin and positioned between said block and said arm 48. This block 49 carries a rotatable anti-friction roller 5|, which engages a segmental cam surface 52 upon the frame 35 concentric with the axis of oscillation of said levers, said cam surface terminating both upwardly and downwardly in radially in maintain said levers either in uppermost oilowermost position.

Also carried by the frame 35 is a pinion 54, which transmits motion from the gear 45 to one side of rack teeth 40, and through the rack II and the intervening oscillatory corner links 18 to the upper and lower racks 26, and thence through pinions 55 to the inner upper and lower racks 21, opposite corner members l3 and the remaining vertical rack ll. Positioned at spaced points about the periphery of said door are blocks l2, such as is shownin Figs. 7 and 8, each of these blocks supporting a dog unit 56, shown in full lines'in Figs. 1, 2 and 8,'and by dot-anddash lines in Figs. 4, 9, 10 and 12, and also in transverse section in Fig. 13.

Gear teeth carried by each of these dog units meshes with each of the racks hereinbefore described, including those parallel racks for the gears 55 hereinbefore referred'to. Each .dog comprises a laterally extending arm 51 (Figs. 7 and 13) carried by a body portion 60, rotatably mounted upon a stud 10 and having an enlarged head 1|. Said body portion extends downwardly or inwardly beyond the lower surface of said dog, and is provided with a circumferentially restricted set of gear teeth 12, adapted to mesh with the outer or upper portions of the fullwidth sets of teeth [4, 20, 28 and 32, and also with a radially enlarged extension having a fiattened tangential surface I3 terminating in one direction in a radial enlargement 14, said tangential surface being adapted to slidable engagement with the flattened surfaces I6, 22 and 30 of said racks, after the enlargement 14 has entered and been engaged by the sides of the respective recesses I1, 23 and 3| of said racks Thus, as either of the levers 43 and 44 is rotated angularly from its uppermost position (Figs. 1,' 4 and 5) towards its lowermost position (Fig. 2), the respective dogs are progressively moved by the shifting of the several racks said operative position, with its correspondingv dog in binding engagement with the adjacent wedge, said body portion ceases to turn further,

site'direction, whereby the sleeves due to engagement of the tangential surface 13 with the flattening surface of the adjacent rack, or corner member as the case may be, and as represented by Fig. .12. Thereafter, as each of said racks continues to move under the influence of one or both of said levers, and thewith the bores l3 of the respective blocks l2.

The gear 16 and sleeve 18 are keyed to said stud in any suitable manner, as for instance by means of a pin 19 extending through bore80, which extends eccentrically-through the upper portion of said stud and the adjacentsurface portions of the gear 16 and sleeve 18 on the one hand, and the reduced end portion I1 of said stud on the other hand. In order to release the several dogs, and unlock the door from binding engagement with respect to the surrounding wall or partition, through the flange and gasket union hereinbefore described, either or both of the levers 43 and 44 are rotated the oppo- 18 are first rotated outwardly within their respective bores l3, until the binding engagement between said dogs and said wedges is at least partially released, after which said dogs are angularly oscillated from the operative position shown in Fig. 12 into the inoperative position shown in Fig. 9.

Throughout the description of this invention, it is to be understood that the member I may comprise any member whatsoever'f -such as a partition or the or ship, or vault, or even the floor or deck of a ship, while .the opening in such. wall may comprise a hatch opening in such floor or eck, as well as a passage through the partition; wall of a ship or other body, as the case ma be. It is also to be understood that the series of locking. dogs may ,be carried either by the door, as herein described and shown, or may be carried by the said wall member adjacent to;the border in the latter. Still again, instead of a gasket of the exact cross-section shownin Figs. '7 and 8, any suitable gasket and mounting for the same may be employed, while in a similar manner the invention does not depend upon the exact shape or even the existence of the wedges in order that the dogs shall function in their intended manner. From these few examples, it will be obvious. that numerous other alterations and variations may be made in the details herein disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention .or the scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

' 1. The combination of a wall member havingan opening,one of said members being provided with aperipheral gasket, the other member beopemng, with a closure member for said ing p'rovided with a flange having an edge portion' in binding. engagement with said gasket when said closure member is in closed position, 'a plurality of angularly oscillatable dogs spaced 'about'the periphery of on of said members and whenfi-iii extended-position being engageable 'withthe'other member, reciprocatable racks en- 'ggageable with teethcarried by said dogs, manto draw said dogs transversely towards oscillatable dogs ually operable racks and to oscillate said dogs into positions overlapping the said other member, and means said other member after reaching such overlapping position, to compress said flange against said gasket. e

2. The combination with a wall member having a. polygonally shaped opening, with a closure member for said opening, one of said members being provided with a peripheral gasket, the other member being adapted. to engage and compress said gasket when said closure is in fully closed position, alplurality of angularly osciilatable dogs spaced about the periphery of one of said members and when in extended position being engageable with the other member,

reciprocatable racks extending along and engageable with teeth carried by the dogs of each side of said closure, links at the corners connecting the racks of adjacent sides of said closure, and means to shift all of said racks in unison to bind the second member against said gasket.

3. The combination with a wall member having a polygonally shaped opening, with a closure member for said opening, one of said members being provided with a peripheral gasket, the other member being adapted to engage and. compress said gasket when said closure is in fully closed position, a. plurality of angularly spaced about the periphery of one of said members and when in extended position being engageable with the other member, reciprocatable racks extending along andket, and means whereby after said shifting means has reached a position at which said dogs are in extended position continued movement I of said means operates to draw said dogs and thereby said closure towards said first member and said other member into compressible rela-' tion with said gasket.

4. *The combination of a wall having an opening, with a door for said opening, said door being provided with an oscillatable dog provided with teeth, a reciprocatable rack in engagement with the teeth of said dog, means to shift said rack to rotate said dog in extended position for en-r gagement with the marginal portion of said wall, and means whereby continued movement of said first means. operates'to draw said dog towards said wall.

5. The combination of a wall having an opening, with a. door for said opening, said door being provided with an oscillatable dog having teeth about a portion only of its periphery, and mounted upon a spirally threaded stud, a gear keyed'to said stud, a reciprocatable rack in engagement 'with both the teeth of said dog and 01 said gear when said dog is in retracted position, shifting of said rack operating first to rotate said dog into extended position overlapping said wall,

after which continued movement ofsaid rack rotates only said gear and said stud, to cause said dog to be drawn towards'and in binding relation with said wall.,

6. The combination of a wall having an opening, a wedge carriedby said wall, with a door for said opening, 'saiddoor beingprov'ided with an oscillatable dog having teeth about a portion actuating means to shift said threaded stud, a gear keyed to said stud, a reciprocatable rack in engagement with both the teeth of said dog and of said gear when said dog is in retracted position, shifting of said rack operatingfirst to rotate said dog into extended position overlapping said wedge, after which continued movement of said rack rotates only said gear and said stud, to cause said dog to be drawn towards and in binding relation with said wedge.

7. The combination of a wall having an opening, with a door for said opening, said door being provided with an oscillatable dog having teeth about a portion of itsperiphery and mounted upon a spirally threaded stud, a block carried'by said door having a threaded bore receiving said stud in axially adjustable engagement, another portion of the periphery of said-dog having a flattened surface, a gear keyed to said stud, a reciprocatable rack in engagement with both the teeth of said dog and of said gear when said dog is in retracted position, shifting of said rack operating first to rotate said dog into extended position overlapping said wall, after which continued movement of said rack rotates only said gear and said stud, to cause said dog to be drawn towards and in binding relation with said wall,

while a flattened surface of said rack engages the corresponding surface of said dog to prevent further rotation of said dog.

8. The combination of a wall having an opening, with a door for said opening, said door and opening having substantially straight sides connected by angular portions, said door being provided with peripherally spaced oscillatable dogs having teeth about a portion of their peripheries and respectively mounted upon a spirally threaded stud, members having bores provided with spiral threads to receive and support said studs in axially variable positions, another portion of each dog having a flattened surface, a gear keyed to each of said studs, reciprocatable racks having flattened surfaces and toothed surfaces in engagement with both the teeth of the dog and its gear in each dog unit along each side of said door when said dogs are in retracted positions, angularly oscillatable links at each corner of said door connecting the adjacent ends of the racks upon angularly related sides thereof, and means to shift said racks whereby said dogs are means to shift said racks and said links whereby 2,271,952 only ofits periphery and mounted upon a spirally first rotated into extended positions overlapping said walls, and by continued movement said racks rotate only said gears and their respective studs to cause said dogs to be drawn towards and in binding relation with said wall, while the flattened surfaces of said racks engage the corresponding surfaces of said dogs to prevent further rotation of said dogs.

9. The combination of a wall having an opening, with a door for said opening, said door and opening having substantially straight sides connected by angular portions, said door being provided with peripherally spaced oscillatable dogs having teeth about a portion of their peripheries and respectively mounted upon a spirally threaded stud, members having'bores provided with spiral threads to receive and support said studs in axially variable positions, another portion of each dog having a flattened surface, a gear keyed to each of said studs, reciprocatable racks having flattened surfaces and toothed surfaces in engagement with both the teeth of the dog and its gear in each dog 'unit along each side of said door when said dogs are in retracted positions, angularly oscillatable links at each corner of said door connecting the adjacent ends of the racks upon angularly related sides thereof, each such link also comprising a rack and a flattened surface, and a dog-and-stud unit operatively associated with each of said links, and

said dogs are first rotated into extended positions overlapping said walls, and by continued movement said racks and said links rotate only said gears and their respective studs, to cause said dogs to be drawn towards and in binding relation with said wall, while the flattened surfaces of ,said racks and said links engage the corresponding surfaces of said dogs to prevent further rotation of said dogs; 7

10. In a door-locking mechanism, the combination of a latch, with an oscillatable lever, a fixed segment having a pair of spaced depressed portions of less radius, and spring-pressed antifriction latch-actuating means carried by said lever and engageable with said'segment, whereby when said antifriction means is positioned in one of said depressed portions said lever is yieldingly prevented from changing its position.

- JOSEPH F. RAUS. 

